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If given the option to choose between Pure Talk vs Verizon service at the same price, almost everyone will go with the latter. In fact, even Free Cell Phone Locator would recommend the same, considering it’s the main carrier and the numerous perks it offers. But then, that doesn’t mean Pure Talk isn’t worth it at all.
If you’re in an area with great AT&T coverage, Pure Talk does have some things to smile about as well. One that we admire most is the fact that they usually sell fully unlocked phones. Thus, you won’t have to wait for the sixty days that Verizon usually gives in their unlocking policy.
In any case, both Verizon and Pure Talk have their strengths and drawbacks as well. So, let’s jump to that and see who will be the perfect provider for you.
Pure Talk vs Verizon : A Quick Summary on the phone Providers
| Feature | Pure Talk | Verizon Wireless |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 | 2000 |
| Parent Company | Telrite Corporation | Verizon Communications |
| Carrier Network | AT&T | Verizon |
| Technologies | GSM | CDMA |
| 5G | YES | YES |
| Lowest Phone Plan | $20 | $30 |
| Unlimited Minutes | YES | YES |
| Unlimited data | YES (with cap) | YES (No cap) |
| Carry-Over | NO | YES (Older plans) |
| Family Plans | YES | YES |
| Mobile Hotspot Data | N/A | YES |
| Mexico/ Canada Call Pass | N/A | Free |
| Video Streaming | YES [up to 1080p HD] | YES [Up to 4K UHD] |
| Phone Unlock | On Purchase | After 60 days |
| Extra Perks | Free Discovery+, Free Apple Music, Free Apple Arcade 600GB Cloud Storage, Free Google Play Pass, Free Hulu/ Disney+/ ESPN+ | |
About Pure Talk
Pure Talk is one of the over a hundred MVNOs (or mobile virtual network operators) here in the U.S. It usually targets low-end consumers who’re seeking budget-friendly phone service for either personal or business use.
Similar to Cricket, Pure Talk runs on the AT&T network while using GSM technology. Thus, this might be the reason it decided to be providing cell phones that are already carrier-unlocked.
Speaking of the phones, by the way, the MVNO has some of the best deals at the moment. You can save up to $250 on the Apple iPhone 13/ Mini/ Pro, iPhone 12/ Mini/ Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20, and others. And to make it even better, the company does support buy now pay later financing, whereby you pay your phone in small monthly payments.
About Verizon Wireless
Meanwhile, Verizon has been a common topic on our page lately. It’s a major carrier, in which case it uses its own towers to provide service to its subscribers. Then, it allows you to subscribe for either the prepaid or postpaid service.
Furthermore, Verizon has over eight phone plans you can choose to operate on. If you can remember our recent chat on the Verizon Go Unlimited and Start Unlimited, we mentioned four of the plans came in 2019.
But, anyway, Verizon is not a cheap service, which is why quite a handful has been switching to its MVNOs, including Straight Talk and Total Wireless. Perhaps, this might be the same reason you’re trying to compare with Pure talk. So, let’s jump to it and see how they stand out from each other.
Pure Talk vs Verizon: Comparing the Features of the Phone Operators
Here’s how Pure Talk compares to Verizon based on the five features that are most crucial when you want to switch phone carriers and keep your phone/ number.
CDMA or GSM
Verizon is a CDMA network and the AT&T that Pure Talk relies on is GSM. So, you can unlock your Verizon phone while hoping to use it with other carriers, but it rejects the Pure Talk SIM card.
Luckily, if we may say, many of the phones in the market right now are 4G LTE and 5G models, which mostly have dual-band technology. So, you should be able to use with either carrier when fully unlocked and set your provider’s features.
Free 5G Access
Well, both carriers win here since they have the 4G LTE, as well as the ultra-speed of the 5G network. The best part, you won’t need to pay extra charges to enjoy the service. You just need to ensure your location support the 5G connectivity and that you have a 5G capable device with you.
Cell Phone Plans Structure
When you compare Verizon vs Pure Talk based on pricing, the former loss to its competitor at a very big margin. Why?
For one, Pure Talk has its lowest plan at $20/ mo. and the “truly” Unlimited package at $55/ mo. for the single line. You can even save more, up to $528/ year when you opt for the family plan with four lines. Then, there’s a 15% discount to all active-duty military and veterans who join.
As for the plan structure, all the plans available include unlimited calling, texting, and data. However, the data allowance will start with limited high-speed, and once that finishes, it drops to 128kbps.
| $20 Unlimited Plan | $25 Unlimited Plan | $30 Unlimited Plan | $35 Unlimited Plan | $45 Unlimited Plan | $55 Unlimited Plan |
| $20.00/mo. (Single Line) | $25.00/mo. (Single Line) | $30.00/mo. (Single Line) | $35.00/ mo. (Single Line) | $45.00/mo. (Single Line) | $55.00/mo. (Single Line) |
| $64.00/mo. (Four Lines) | $80/mo. (Four Lines) | $96.00/mo. (Four Lines) | $112.00/mo. (Four Lines) | $114.00/mo. (Four Lines) | $176.00/mo. (Four Lines) |
| Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk |
| Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text |
| 2GB High-Speed Data | 4GB High-Speed Data | 6GB High-Speed Data | 10GB High-Speed Data | 20GB High-Speed Data | 60GB High-Speed Data |
| Unlimited 128kbps data | Unlimited 128kbps data | Unlimited 128kbps data | Unlimited 128kbps data | Unlimited 128kbps data | Unlimited 128kbps data |
| Video stream (1080p quality) | Video stream (1080p quality) | Video stream (1080p quality) | Video stream (1080p quality) | Video stream (1080p quality) | Video stream (1080p quality) |
Note, Pure Talk advertises the $55 “truly” Unlimited plan to have unlimited high-speed data. However, they further provide that your browsing speed will drop if your data consumption goes beyond 60GB. Hence, the reason we’ve shown the data allotment on the table above capped at 60GB of high speed.
Verizon Has Truly Unlimited Data Too
That’s right. Verizon also has unlimited phone plans that enable you to call, text, and browse as many times as you want. However, the carrier has over eight different plans to choose from when you count even the grandfathered rate plans like the Go Unlimited
The following table shows a summary of the four (Verizon) prepaid plans, plus the lowest and highest of the “truly” unlimited bundle.
| 5GB Prepaid Plan | 15GB Prepaid Plan | Unlimited Prepaid Plan | Unlimited+ Prepaid Plan | Start Unlimited | Get More Unlimited |
| $40.00/mo. (first month) | $50/mo. (first month) | $65.00/mo. (first month) | $75.00/mo. (first month) | $70.00/mo. (Single Line) | $90.00/mo. (Single Line) |
| $30.00/mo. (Next months) | $40.00/mo. (Next months) | $55.00/mo. (Next months) | $65.00/ mo. (Next months) | $140.00/ mo. (Four Lines) | $220.00/ mo. (Four Lines) |
| Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk | Unlimited Talk |
| Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text | Unlimited Text |
| 5GB High-Speed Data | 15GB High-Speed Data | Unlimited High-Speed Data | Unlimited High-Speed Data | Unlimited High-Speed Data | Unlimited High-Speed Data |
| Unlimited 2G speeds data | Unlimited 2G speeds data | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | 10GB Hotspot (For $5/mo.) | 10GB Hotspot (free) | N/A | 30GB Hotspot (free) |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 600GB Cloud Storage |
| Video stream (480p quality) | Video stream (480p quality) | Video stream (480p quality) | Video stream (480p quality) | Video stream (480p quality) | Video stream (4K Ultra-HD) |
As you can see, the Verizon prepaid plans are a bit affordable, but lacks that extra beauty of the “truly” unlimited plans. But again, Pure Talk is still a more affordable option when you count the military and family discounts.
Free Mobile Hotspot Data
Verizon takes the points here as it has a free unlimited mobile hotspot for the Unlimited Plus prepaid plan, and Play More, Do More, and Get More plans. Your hotspot data will start with the limited high-speed on 5G Nationwide or 4G LTE, then when that finishes, it drop to 600kbps speed until the end month.
Meanwhile, Pure talk does support mobile hotspots as well but doesn’t have its data allowance, for now. So, the devices you tether will be using up your regular data allowance.
Video Streaming Resolution
Similarly, the points for video streaming will go to Verizon as well. Yes, the prepaid plans stream at a relatively low resolution of 480p, but that must be for their capped high-speed data. The “truly” unlimited plans that have uncapped LTE and 5G data speeds can stream at 720p to 1080p HD resolution for the phone and tablets. Then, 4K ultra-HD if you’re with 5G Ultra Wideband coverage and a device that supports 4K streaming.
As for the Pure talk brand, all the plans support video streaming at 1080p HD. However, over half of these plans have pretty little high-speed data allowance that might not take you throughout the month.
FAQ
Does Pure Talk use Verizon towers?
Pure Talk is one of the best phone services if you would want to cut your monthly bill. It runs on AT&T cell towers, which means you can easily swap the SIM with most unlocked GSM phones. So, for the question, Pure Talk doesn’t use Verizon Towers.
Who is the carrier for Pure Talk?
As we’ve just said, the carrier for Pure Talk is AT&T. Thus, you should be able to insert your SIM card in either of the phones and it works.
what phones are compatible with pure talk
As with most MVNOs, AT&T phones should be compatible with Pure Talk with no stress. Unlocked GSM phones from other carriers should also work without issues as long they have the necessary primary frequency bands.
To Conclude:
When you compare Pure talk vs Verizon based on the pricing, the GSM takes the points, for sure. However, a scale for the overall experience will go down in favor of Verizon, and so are we. If it’s the rate plans, the CDMA carrier has unlimited browsing data, as well as an unlimited hotspot. So, you can continue with your office work at the back of the RV without any problem.
Although we didn’t mention it, Verizon also has more extra perks compared to Pure Talk. Some examples include unlimited roaming data in Mexico, free calling to Canada and international texting to over 200 countries, 600GB of cloud storage, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Apple music, and others